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Apple patent hints at LTE-capabile laptops

Microsoft has announced that six PC manufacturers (HP, Lenovo, ASUS, VAIO, Huawei, and Xiaomi) are committed to producing LTE-capable laptops. When will Apple join the party? A new patent (number 20170212554) for “electronic devices having ventilation systems with antennas” shows that the company is at least considering the possibility.

According to the patent filing, an electronic device — including a laptop — may sport a metal housing that may have an upper housing in which a component such as a display is mounted and a lower housing in which a component such as a keyboard is mounted. Hinges may be used to mount the upper housing to the lower housing for rotation about a rotational axis. An LTE capable MacBook Pro or MacBook could connect directly to 4G LTE as a smartphone would.

In 2008, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs rejected the idea of LTE-equipped laptops because it would add complexity to the device and lock customers in to a particular carrier. As noted by 9to5Mac, neither argument applies today. Antennas have grown ever smaller.

Of course, Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.